Effects of Welfare Technology in Norway

Description

The Norwegian Health Directorate, The Norwegian Directorate for E-health and The Norwegian Association of Local & Regional Authorities support the Norwegian municipalities in implementing welfare technology through the Norwegian Welfare Technology Program. The program was founded in 2013 to strengthen innovation processes in health and care services in the municipalities and contribute to the development, testing, documentation and implementation of welfare technology.

The National Welfare Technology Program divides benefits into three categories: increased quality, time saved and avoided costs. A previous study shows that there is a varying awareness of achieved benefits and the realization of these benefits in the municipalities working to implement welfare technology in the health and care service.

Goals

This project will provide detailed knowledge about the effects of welfare technology for both health care staff and the service. In addition, we will study how the municipalities work to realize these benefits. Furthermore, we will investigate whether the effects achieved are different in municipalities of different characteristics (size, geography, etc.).

Method

Data will be collected through individual interviews and focus group interviews of project managers, other key personnel and staff in the health and care services in selected municipalities. In addition, we will collect data from various documents and registers.